#someone get this kid to to Dick | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

flamingpudding · 7 months

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Nice Cosplay, dude!

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Just get in, beat the criminals, dismantle the bomb and get out again, preferably with no injuries so they all would get to enjoy Alfred's cookies at the end of the night.

But no. Of course things couldn't be simple. Not when Constantine suddenly enters their coms, screaming something about a multidimensional rip and then Jason shouting something about seeing a whirlpool of green that feels very very bad and then Dick started cursing at B being stubborn and....

Tim buried his face in his hands. At least thanks to Jason seeing that Lazarus Pit like Portal everyone believed him this time that Bruce was still alive but this time not lost in time but apparently thrown into another dimension. Though that wasn't making the situation any better. Because Tim was sure Alfred was the only reason the Manor was still standing otherwise his siblings and himself included would have destroyed it by now.

Damian's enraged shout echoed through the Cave, followed by another death threat made by Jason and then Dick's attempt at being the voice of reason. Dear god, they needed to figure out where B was or someone might die.... or at least get maimed by his siblings be it a criminal or one of them.

Hopefully Constantin or anyone else of the JL Dark will have figured out in which dimension B had gotten thrown into.

Meanwhile...

Batman was staring down at the white-haired kid with Lazarus green glowing eyes wearing a jumpsuit and still had green splatter on his cheeks. The kid was grinning at him with big round eyes that reminded him of Dick when he was younger.

He would have believed the kid innocent if it weren't for 1. The glowing green eyes that reminded him of his second oldest phases of pit madness and 2. The fact that he had just watched the kid beat up a ghost like being he, Batman, had not been able to land a single hit on before imprisoning that being into a thermos.

The kid clearly was a vigilante in the working and for a split second Bruce wondered how his children would react to an interdimensional sibling if he mentored the kid. First of all... the boy needed more protection. That flimsy suit was not offering enough of that. Second the kid should wear a mask. Running around with his face openly in view would only spell trouble for the boy and thitd training the kid needed to learn-

"Wow dude, that's an awesome cosplay of Batman! It looks like it's right out of the comics!"

Batmans thoughts on mentoring the kid came to a screeching halt as he stared at the kid. And gruffly repeated. "Comics?"

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spacedace · 7 months

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Had a thought about the Reluctant War and made myself a bit sad and I have no idea if it'll make it into the story proper so I'm going to inflict it upon all you guys:

Dick Grayson on the streets of Gotham trying to do everything he can to help as everyone join the ghosts in fighting the GIW, suddenly has a version of the GAV barreling down towards him and for some reason he can't get out of the way in time.

He thinks he's about to join the army of the dead in a whole new way, when the tank fo a vehicle is suddenly sent flying as something massive charged it from the side. He hears a familiar bellowing and then realizes that it's Zitka, a ghost after passing away peacefully a few years before.

She wasn't apart of the army of the ghosts, wasn't brought in to fight. She's just been following her tiny human child around all these years and now that there's enough ecto in the air to do so, she's going to protect him with all her might.

Dick is emotional, so thankful to have his old friend back, but the city is still in a state of chaos. He gets onto Zitka's back and they get to work, running - flying - around helping to grab the injured and whisk them away to safety or take out other GAVs and the like.

It's absurd and freeing and wonderful all at once to be literally flying through the skies of Gotham on the ghost of his elephant best friend, and if Dick wasn't already on the side of King Phantom he is *now* and -

He gets shot off Zitka's back.

A GIW agent was aiming for the Ghost elephant but somehow *missed* and hit Dick instead. Not enough to injure him too badly, but enough to send him flying off Zitka's back and plummeting to the ground. His grapple is broken, and Zitka is diving for him but she's being shot at and she's not going to make it in time and -

A hand, reaching out to him in midair, familiar with its callouses and strong grip as he reaches out and grasps it, body suddenly swinging in a different direction and muscles acting on memory as he falls into the old, achingly familiar routine of his childhood. His mother, ethereal and bright as she smiles down at him, hanging upside down from a bar suspended from nothing but open sky as they swing and he is let go, flipping on instinct and caught by the steady strong hands of his father.

The Flying Graysons reunited in the skies above Gotham, Dick's ghostly parents determined to ensure their little bird never falls the way they did.

#dpxdc #dc x dp #dp x dc #dick grayson #zitka the elephant #the flying graysons #the reluctant war #reluctant war au #i'm just really in my feels this morning about Dick reuniting with his dead family members #lile they're there because they always have been there watching over him #now he's just able to see and interact with them #and don't even get me started about Thomas and Martha Wayne running around helping Alfred and their grandkids #Alfred getting cornered and out of ammo just for someone to shoot off a GIW agent's head with a shotgun and he turns to see martha there #One of the kids gets injured and a ghost with an old fashioned doctor's bag drops down and takes care of them #and he looks so *familiar* that in their out of sorts state the batkid thinks it's Bruce #and Thomas just pats them gently and says: close chum. you can call me grandpa if you like #I'M HAVING A LOT OF FEELINGS THIS MORNING ABOUT ALL OF THIS OKAY 😭😭😭

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ghost-bxrd · 2 months

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Prompt:

Arkham Knight Edition

Jason gets thrown into an alternate universe and finds his younger self being tortured in the asylum.

Things get… a little blurry after that.

When Jason comes back to himself he’s got a shaking kid clinging to him and a worrying amount of Joker parts strewn all over the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Seems like it’s going to be one of those days…

#Arkham knight #because I just managed to get my hands on a Funko pop copy of them MWAHAHAHA #my agenda to own all versions of Jason funko pops is THRIVING #prompts #Arkham verse jason doesn’t know who the stranger is but he killed joker and untied him #that’s good enough for him #he just hopes this isn’t some kind of trick and gems gonna get tortured again in a couple minutes #but that’s ok as long as he gets to hug someone just a little longer #OG jason is lowkey freaking the hell #out #reliving trauma isn’t fun #but also he’s got a tortured kid to deal with right now and that’s gotta take priority #and also the green is making a hard comeback upon seeing the J branded into Jay’s cheek #jason todd #batfamily #dick grayson #batfam #bruce wayne #robin #red hood #tim drake #batman #alternature universe #rescue #dimension travel #dimension hopping

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bruciemilf · 1 year

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I can’t really get into the parentification of Dick or “dadwing”, mostly because a big portion of people assign him the “healthy, perfect parent” trait as a dunk on Bruce. But they also want the “elder sister” angst at the same time, which just doesn’t mix.

Saying that Dick is the less dysfunctional option for his siblings is laughable because HE’S inherently a flawed human being with a flawed set of coping mechanisms.

I don’t see him knocking on the therapist’s office instead of putting on the mask. Do you?

If you want the big sister, get ready for the cruelty that comes with her. And we’ve personally seen just how good Dick is at hurting feelings.

#like it feels so…forced #Sibling dynamics don’t work like parent\child dynamics besties. When you’re someone’s parent you subsequently forfeit your personhood.#you have to be the patient one the responsible one the dependable one the problem and the solution.#and that’s very clearly always been Bruce’s role. and hey if you want dick to be a dad better get ready to hold him culpable for everything #always. but you can’t. cause dick isn’t a father #like ik it’s not that deep but it’s frustrating #text #dc #dick grayson #bruce wayne #also?? dick has his own kid??

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webshood · 2 years

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i feel a little unhinged today so i wanna share a little something with y'all :)))

imagine this scenario, so Batman and the JL accidentally going to another earth, it looks exactly like their earth, but there's small details that change everything about this world

one of them is that there's no Batman, the Martha and Thomas Wayne never died in this earth and thus Bruce never became Batman

this earth's Bruce is cheerful, genuinely happy, he's in a relationship with Clark after they meet at a Wayne gala, they had good chemistry and when Clark asked this Bruce out he accepted it, he's now the Justice League's doctor

Batman has not revealed his identity to his league yet, but he has a crush on Clark to some degree and seeing how happy his counterpart is with their own Supes, leaves a sour taste on his mouth

Batman is not good with romantic relationships, but his heart still aches and he's kinda pissy about the whole situation, trying to go back home as soon as possible, the other JL members with him are a little weirded out about his insistence in coming back as soon as possible and they even send Diana to calm him down

Bruce from this earth notices their tension and decides to host a dinner so they can relax a little bit before going home, because when Batman is antsy everyone else becomes a little antsy too and when this affects his own Supes he sees the need to do something

everyone is eating and chatting away, when Bruce mentions he's turning 35 soon and Batman freezes, he's noticed that Bruce didn't mention Dick or Jason in any point of their conversation (Dick should he turning eighteen and Jason been recently adopted)

so he jumps from his seat and literally steals someone's cellphone and start to look for his children, Dick's parents died, but his boy is nowhere to be found, when he looks for Jason there's only one mention of his baby and it's alongside the news of Willis Todd imprisonment

when he starts to pack up the invisible jet for a trip to Hong Kong so he can kidnap his little girl, Bruce asks him to wait and keep calm, tries to reason with him, about how "You don't even know this children here, this is not your earth"

that's when the illusion falls

no matter how good of a life this bruce has, no matter who he's dating, no matter that he doesn't have the childhood trauma witnessing the death of his parents caused, because even if he's not from this earth, they're still his children. this Bruce might be happy, but Batman wouldn't ever be happy without his children, there's no romantic love that can compare to being utterly bullied by his kids everyday

when the league travels back to their earth, Bruce might be able to try and ask Superman out for a date, but he has to absolutely smother his kids in long and tight bear hugs first, because he can't even imagine life without them

bonus: Batman tracks down every single one of his kids (minus Damian because this earth's Bruce never meet Talia) on that earth and contacts his significant others/exes that are safe enough to raise a kid, but nuts enough to 100% believe that he's from another earth, each of them has their own little kid now

#dc comics #bruce wayne #batfam #batfamily #superbat #khoa lookin' down to Jason and Cass after he kidnapped them because his soulmate from another earth said he should:#Dick waking up to find his bank account with way more money than he had in the morning and someone made a college fund for him #tim brushing selina's cats because she promised him cookies #Steph's mom being called by a lawyer because her 'deceased' aunt left her a lot of money under the condition that she gets a divorce #duke's bio father receiving a work opportunity in new york #bruce is trying to raise his 6 ½ kids even if one of them doesn't actually exist #sorry dami no dad for u ://#batman #jason todd #dick grayson #duke thomas #cassandra cain #tim drake #stephanie brown

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temperamentalaquarius · 1 month

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To b honest I don't understand the appeal of Jason being Damian's league of assassins buddy for multiple reasons(partially because the only way Jason and Damian would interact on a positive level during that time period is 100% non-canon interpretations of both of them) but I think the most prevelant one is that Steph and Dick made Damian want to be the person he is now because they were so different from him, and could provide him w/ a point of view that he couldn't see on his own, especially wrt to Steph. They literally kick start his examination of the value of a life(including his own sans expectations and success)/what Batman has to mean and built it up brick by brick. Without them Damian isn't...Damian? Which I guess could be the point but, I mean, fuck it, if we rlly want to do an alternate origin with a dose of ex assassin turned batkid hang time I think it would be 1000% more interesting with Cass. Best fighter in the world who refuses to kill due to it being her deepest, most inescapable regret and a 10 yr old who thinks he's hot shit and disagrees? I could see that being interesting but I really don't get the Jason thought process 🤔

#stephanie brown #damian wayne #dick grayson #jason todd #cassandra cain #bitch I might wing #and I'm Fine with Jason I even like Jason I just don't think #it makes sense for either of them even in their loosest interpretations #like they hate each other and unlike Steph Jason would 10/10 not be able to walk that off #and that's at best #at worst Damian goes down the Sasha path of getting used as a pawn which #what a waste #also as someone said Talia was not letting Jason around her kid lbr

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goldengirlgalaxy · 1 year

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Little Baby Man Disease (DPXDC)

Continuation of this post. TL:DR is that Little Baby man is caused by Ghost Rabies and can effect both ghosts and those who are ecto-contaminated.

So, somehow someway, the Little Baby Men get into Gotham. Doesn't matter how, they are there and acting like feral little gremlins. At some point, Damian comes across a couple of them (let's say Danny, Tucker, and Sam) and brings them back to the Cave. Black Bat and Red Hood are there and start inspecting the funky noodle people Robin just brought in.

Unfortunately, Little Baby Man teeth are sharp enough to pierce through their gloves. Also unfortunately, the three are just ecto-contaminated enough to be able to catch Ghost Rabies.

Cue the Batfam falling into chaos as three of their members have become feral worms with ghostly powers. Batman tries to contain them, only for them to phase out of every kind of containment until they escape the Batcave, bringing their chaos to the streets. Now the Batfam have to collect their infected members and hopefully get into contact with someone who can cure them.

Also, either the Joker escapes or the Little Baby Man army breaks into Arkham, driven by Jason's intense anger over his murder. Either way, Joker is getting the stuffing beaten out of him by a dozen spooky noodle worms.

#dp x dc prompt #dp x dc #dpxdc #dc x dp #danny phantom #batman #red hood #dc robin #robin damian #black bat #I went with those three since they are the ones that the fandom seems to consider the most exposed to the Pits #Batman is freaking out over his kids being turned into noodles #The Joker is attacked without mercy but he luckily isn't turned #None of the baby men want him to be a part of their group #Someone recorded the Joker being attacked and posted it online #It was Dick #The three do eventually get cured along with everyone else #But they end up with some level of ghost powers by the end of it #Have fun figuring out their powers

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nanitecitys · 8 days

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imo it will always be a million times more cringe and insufferable to be an adult who actively makes fun of people who have harmless interests than it is to be an adult who is just really into cartoons or something idk

#like at what point does someone realize theyre a miserable person #and like i get that some people can be annoying but you don't have to be a dick to ppl just trying to have fun or enjoy something yknow?#and i've seen this dip its toes into 'we Should be bullying autistic people actually' territory and i gotta say im not a fan !#anyways point is be fucking nice to people im so sick of negativity surrounding adults who happen to like kids shows or games or movies #like i promise there are more important things to worry about #okay end rant lol #nanite.txt #ok to rb btw

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cephalog0d · 6 months

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Okay, but like. There's the whole joke about Bruce recruiting children to be his sidekicks, but honestly there's only really one that fits that.

And it's Jason. And the whole story there is, frankly, unhinged. Aaaaand then he died.

(I'm specifically talking about "first post-crisis origin stories" here because Jason and Dick, in particular, have both had multiple major retcons and revisions over the years, and some of them dramatically change how things happened.)

Like okay. Going backwards, you've got Duke who joined/led a whole Robin-based gang at a time when Bruce wasn't even Batman. You've got Damian and Cass, who were both literally born into the world of masks and capes and heroes and villains, so they weren't ever really not going to be part of it. Steph might have taken inspiration from previous heroes but she made her own identity and repeatedly refused to stop involving herself in the vigilante lifestyle. Tim, obviously, basically strong-armed Batman into letting him be Robin, despite Batman's protests.

Dick's a little more complicated just because there's so many versions, because that's what 80 years of comics and multiple universe reboots will do, and there's kind of a general trend that earlier pre-crisis versions were more of Batman being like "hello, child, would you like to be my sidekick" and later versions have leaned harder and harder into the idea that Dick was absolutely going to do this anyway, regardless of what Batman had to say about it. But even in the first post-crisis version, the flashback in Batman Year 3, Dick says he wants to find a way to keep people like that from hurting others again. When Alfred questions Bruce's offer to train him, Bruce says that Dick should learn to do things the right way if he's going to do it. It's not hard to extrapolate that, much like later versions of the origin story, Dick was going to get himself into this one way or another. (Batman (1940) #437)

And then there's Jason. Whose backstory has also had a lot of (sometimes major) revisions over the years (remember when his adoption was, like, some kind of Joker-originated long con? Fucken Nu52, man). But the original post-crisis version is pretty straightforward. Steals Batman's tires, gets caught and sent to Ma Gunn's Secret Criminal School, intervenes when Batman goes to investigate, immediately gets offered the chance to be Robin based entirely on that.

Which is itself kind of unhinged. That Bruce saw this kid who was living on his own stealing tires and went "Hey you would make a good Robin" as his very first instinct.

But if you've never read Jason's post-crisis origin, or it's been a while, it's honestly even more unhinged than that because that arc starts with Dick getting "fired" as Robin specifically for the reason that he got shot by Joker and Bruce freaked out about how the Robin identity has too many enemies and therefore Dick, a legal adult with approximately a decade of training and experience, should not use the identity anymore.

(And it's specifically about the Robin identity, in this version, because when Dick says he's not going to stop the crime fighting thing Bruce's response is basically "I know and I didn't expect you to". Honestly I could also say a lot about this version of the Robin/Nightwing transition vs. later ones and how this one definitely feels like the Heavy Hand of DC Editorial in the fact that they had no contact for so long afterwards, because the interaction really doesn't feel like it warrants that in this case compared to some later versions, but that's a whole other too-long ramble.) (Batman (1940) #408)

And then a few weeks later Bruce turns around and picks up a random kid, a literal child, and goes "Hey you would make a good Robin!"

And I think a lot about how fucking wild that is. And it's not like the people writing just didn't notice. Dick's big argument with Bruce when he finally comes back to Gotham and meets Jason isn't about the fact that Bruce took in another kid, or even necessarily about Dick feeling proprietary over the Robin identity, the thing he's angry about is that Bruce said it was too dangerous for him, an adult, someone who has trained with Batman for a decade and was already highly physically trained before that for his whole life, to be Robin, and now Bruce has turned around and painted that target onto some random new kid. He pushes, repeatedly, trying to get Bruce to justify himself and this absolutely irresponsible decision, and Bruce gives a lot of answers about how Jason was on a bad path and needed this outlet and eventually just admits that he missed having a partner. (Batman (1940) #416)

And like. Dick's right, is the thing. He is 1000% in the right in this argument. If he can't be Robin anymore because of the danger, how in the hell is it anything like a good idea to hand it over to someone way younger, way less trained, way less experienced, and expect that that wouldn't end in tragedy?

And then it did.

And yeah, Bruce, it is kinda a lot of your fault.

#And the punchline is Batman clearly should not get to choose his own sidekicks! Haha?#(Sorry this is a lot more serious than my usual Batfam shitposts it won't be a regular habit don't worry)#this is long and rambly but it's something i think about a lot #and it's on my mind extra because of an AU oneshot i'm working on finishing right now #and obviously there's eight kabillion versions of any given origin and reboots and retcons and they change drastically yadda yadda yadda #and also obviously there's always behind-the-scenes editorial choices and other factors when it comes to comics story events #story and character choices are frequently not just a matter of storytelling but of things like meeting editorial demand of What Must Happe #but just looking at the story as presented: the one time bruce specifically recruited someone as his sidekick that kid ended up dead for it #it does make narrative sense given this that bruce's reaction to most of the subsequent kids is initially 'go the fuck home and stop this'#and then only really yielding with the realization that they're totally going to do this shit anyway #jason todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne

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dickheadcanons · 2 months

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Your brain is literally gynormous. Do you think Damian's and Dick's relationship is paternal? Because, as someone who has actually had to raise their sibling (do not recommend) it looks more like a guy that had too much in his plate trying to be the best caregiver he could, but not really being a parent, if that makes sense. I feel like the idea of him wanting to adopt him feels like kind of a retcon, couldn't really see it in the og run. But of course, it could be because it's not exactly the same as my experience (abusive father, incapable mother, yknow the drill). What do you think? All your posts are so good.

Also while you're at it, what do you think of Dick as a parent? Some elseworlds have played with the concept, and main continuity did something too with Olivia but T*m Tayl*r fucked that up too. I also wonder how Damian would be as a dad, but I don't think I've ever seen any stories with it.

omg anon thank you and thank you for asking!! this is literally one of my favorite topics!! i was thinking about making a post on this and now you gave me the excuse for it!!

Long story short, I don't think that “parental” is a binary thing. I mean, I know several bio-parents who are just guys with too much on their plates, trying to be the best they can, you know? And people can see parent figures in all kinds of relationships that aren’t blood or traditional moms/dads, especially with people who didn't know each other from birth. There are a million ways to be parented, and a million ways to act as a parent.

The way I think about it is, is Dick Damain's John Grayson? No, I don't think so.

But is Dick Damian's Bruce Wayne? Yes. Totally. Absolutely.

More under the cut bc I have a lot of thoughts.

I think to talk about Dick and Damian, we have to start with Dick and Bruce. So much about Dick and Damian is a reflection of the original Dynamic Duo, and I think that's very much the case with this element as well. From the start of their very long comic history, Dick and Bruce have been dancing around their relationship. We get early comics that say they're "like" father and son, we have Bruce saying he couldn't care about Dick more than if he was Bruce's son, but we also have places where they call each other their best friends, where they act more like brothers, etc etc.

When it comes to who our parents are, I think there is the responsibility, and the result. Certain people have the responsibility, the duty, to be our parents, and sometimes (because death or illness or being shitty people), they aren't able to meet those responsibilities. That never removes the responsibility; they don't stop being the parent. But they aren't able to create the result of us becoming good stable adults. That's where other people can step in, where the parental figure appears, and those are the people that we actually point to when we say "they made me the person I am today."

In fandom, we see a lot of Dick not wanting Bruce to replace his father, of him asking not to be adopted. I think this is a fine characterization that works with who Dick is, but Bruce is actually the one to say that he is not going to replace Dick's father. He says it completely unprompted, too. This is withholding the responsibility of being Dick's parent from Bruce, keeping him at a distance and reserving it as an honor for someone who can't hold it anymore, even as Bruce demands responsibility for literally everything else about Dick.

And I think that it's very telling of what Bruce's idea of a father is. The thing about having a dead parent at a young age is that the person of your parents is still tangled in the role of parent in your life; Mom is mom, not Martha, and because she's dead, the image of both Martha and "mom" is frozen. For Bruce, the relationship of father and son is frozen in the relationship of specifically his father and him. Of course Bruce is not Dick's father; Bruce himself is so different from what his conception of a father is. And as a fellow son, for Bruce, someone who just got back from 7 years abroad studying to be Batman, for whom the nearly 20 year old wound is still fresh, the idea of even wanting another father doesn't make sense, particularly for a boy that Bruce identifies with so hard that he becomes the third person ever to know who Batman is.

This looming memory is even worse when it's Dick's turn to be Batman. While Bruce looks at Dick and sees the memory of his own loss, the shadow of his own grief, Dick is looking at Damian and seeing Bruce. Dick knows very well who Damian lost; Dick is grieving what Damian lost more than Damian is. Bruce couldn't conceive of replacing a father, but Dick is struggling to imagining himself replacing Bruce at his job, much less who he was in his personal relationships.

But even if Damian isn't Dick's responsibility, Dick doesn't hesitate to care about Damian's future. "Who's going to save him if we don't?" At the start of the DickBats era, Dick isn't looking at Damian as a family member, really. He's looking at Damian as a victim, abet a very involved, very dangerous one. It's how Bruce looked at Dick too, before he had any reason to know that this kid would become something more to him. But, like Bruce, what Dick does to save Damian is bring him into the thing that is most precious to him; Batman. The mission. Saving people. A way to live in the world.

I know saying someone is the Batman to their Robin is like, a joke at this point. Something unbelievably cheesy. But you google "iconic duos" and Batman and Robin are one of the first responses. There's a reason for the joke. So imagine you are Robin, and your Batman is dead. And you have to go and find a new partner. Dick making Damian his Robin is heavy, just as heavy to me as adoption papers. Bruce made Dick his partner without any idea of what that meant. Dick, and the audience, had 70 years of expectation on what Dick and Damian could be. Dick making Damian Robin was a very specific claim, far stronger imo than just claiming him as a son would have been.

Because, to be honest (and speak to your other question), I don't think Dick thinks a lot about being a parent. I don't really think it's that important to him. Dick is a leader, a mentor, he deals with a ton of teenagers and kids through his vigilante work, he goes to Tim's sidekick parent's meetings and takes Jason skiing and more than that, he's also young. He's in his 20s. He should be at the club. I think he probably thinks he'll have kids in an abstract way, but it's not something he's looking for, consciously or unconsciously. He's not searching for connection, or to fix his mistakes or his past, the things that lead Bruce to adopting sidekicks. He'd be a great dad, and I think we see him being pretty good with his Elseworlds kids, but Dick is a very practical person, and him taking a kid in (vs finding somewhere else they can go) is not really the practical choice.

Except for one kid. There's just been one kid with legitimately no where else to go, where Dick is truly the only option, because going home meant only bad things for him. Dick made Damian part of his family in the ways that mattered to them both in that moment. With their lives, adoption doesn't really make a huge material difference on custody (if Damian wanted to leave, Dick couldn't have stopped him; Damian has access to basically unlimited money and can feed and clothe and wash himself. and possibly already has a phd.), and Dick wanted Damian to choose, anyway. If I recall correctly, Dick says he didn't think about taking Damian with him until Bruce comes back. He thought about taking Damian with him, thought that Damian might be better with Dick (his partner!!!!) than even with Bruce, his dad, the person Dick loves so much, only in the face of them being separated.

Meanwhile Damian, for all his blustering about how Dick needs to "earn" his respect, warms up to Dick startlingly quickly. For Damian, who had never known a father, who in his initial run hadn't even known his mother for more than two years, whose other male family is Ra’s al Ghul, his father is Batman. Even in Tomasi's kinder depiction of Damian's childhood, Damian only knows the Bat. And when he meets Bruce, the first thing he expresses is disappointment. Bruce the man is underwhelming and then goes and dies. So much for the mythic hero!

And then he meets Dick. Who manages to teach Damian something, who doesn't discount his skills even when he's wrong. Who proves that he is better at being Batman than Damian, and shows that he wants Damian around. And, even more importantly, who doesn't die. Dick is stable in a world constantly in flux. Damian screws up a lot in that run, and he leaves for long stretches of it, but Dick is always there when he gets back. There's no blame here, but the truth is that Dick is the one who stays.

Bruce was Damian's father, but what does that mean to someone whose never met a father at all? Bruce might have tried to connect with Damian before he died, but he doesn’t do it in a way that works. He doesn’t give Damian trust, he doesn’t encourage him in the ways Damian finds important…the first person to do that is Dick. Dick gives Damian responsibility, makes him part of the team. It could be argued that Damian didn’t deserve it, but we’re not talking about deserving. We’re talking about what worked. It sounds like as good an idea as making a tiny 8 year old acrobat a sidekick, but it undeniably worked for both Damian and Dick. Does that mean that either of these relationships were parental in the way that we think of it in the real world, in the way that a child psychologist would say is good and healthy? I have no idea. But they are the most parental in the absence of any other parents, and I think that means a lot.

Unfortunately, we don't get to actually see the dissolution of Dick and Damian's partnership. DC conveniently skips over showing us Bruce coming back and Dick becoming Nightwing again; preNew 52, Dick is still Batman with Damian even when Bruce returns, and in the New 52, he's been Batman "Before" and we don't really see the end, just a vague aftermath. But if it did take that kind of change to make them realize their relationship had a flavor of "parent and child", had the makings of something like a father and son, well, they'd just be following in the original Batman's footprints.

#asks #dick grayson #damian wayne #bruce wayne #this is a fucking essay #batman meta #And I didn't even manage to talk about John #Sorry John #I think there is the more traditional caregiver side of parenthood #the part that makes sure the kids are fed and dressed and ready for school #but the magic of comics is that none of the bat characters really need that and damian in particular is not receptive to it #They kind of regress Damian to it a bit after the supersons era #but he is extremely assured while Dick is batman #he doesn't need a parent in the caregiver way he need a parent in the believes in you and gives you somewhere to call home way #it just turns out that its really hard to have someone love you and watch out for you and get super invested in your development #and not think of them in some kind of fond paternal way #also i may need to make a real post about dick and children because i dont know if i was really coherent here lol #also if there are any issues that show something i missed lmk #i have definitely not read everything

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